"I want to live a balanced life, have a lifestyle according to doctors' advice," she said.

Bharti said BJP chief Amit Shah had asked her to continue as Union minister till 2019. "I had a talk over phone with him three days ago (during which Shah told her to continue in the Union government)," she said.

There is nothing unusual about taking such a break, Bharti said, adding that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had done so for health reasons during his political career.

"This doesn't mean I am retiring from politics," the 58-year-old leader said, adding she was younger than Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and two other leaders from the state -- BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya and former Union Minister Prahlad Patel.

"I will have many years left in politics even after the next three years. In fact, I am focusing on health to ensure that it does not deteriorate," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.